Suspect Caught In Colorado Over 2 Slain In Dallas

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DALLAS (CBS4/AP) – Colorado authorities have arrested a man sought after a husband and wife were shot to death on the front porch of their Texas home.

Arapahoe County Jail records Monday showed Abey Bellette Girma, 37, was being held without bond on a fugitive warrant from Dallas. Online jail records did not list an attorney for Girma, who was booked Sunday night on capital murder charges.

Dallas police issued a warrant for Girma in the killing of a couple who ran an Ethiopian restaurant. The bodies of the pair, Yayehyirad Lemma and Yenenesh Desta, were discovered last Wednesday morning.

An affidavit says Girma believed the couple disrespected him.

Aurora police said they came in contact with Girma after a suspicious occurrence call at an apartment in the 1300 block of South Chambers Road. Officers contacted the female resident who said she had an encounter with Girma at St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Church on Thursday.

“She was approached by a male who had been seen hanging around the church. This male was unknown to the members of the congregation. The male asked the female for her phone number and she refused to give it to him,” police said in a statement.

The woman said the man identified himself as “Abey.”

“On Friday evening the female saw Abey again at the church. At approximately 10:45 p.m. the female heard a knock at her door and window at her home,” police said. “The female recognized the male at her door as Abey. She did not answer the door.”

According to police, many in the Ethiopian community were aware of the recent double homicide in Dallas. The woman looked up the news story which showed a picture of the suspect who was identified as Girma and called police.

Police were later able to locate Girma at the church and then made a traffic stop and he was taken into custody.